French Open 2025: Coco Gauff's serve is not at its best but she gets the breaks for a win

PARIS (AP) — Coco Gauff kept getting herself in some trouble with shaky serving in the French Open's second round, and she kept putting herself back in position to win by breaking right back Thursday.

The second-seeded Gauff, pursuing her first title at Roland-Garros, eliminated 172nd-ranked qualifier Tereza Valentova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-4 in 75 minutes on a partly cloudy, warm afternoon in Court Suzanne-Lenglen.

Amid a soundtrack of sirens from nearby streets and roars from nearby courts, 2023 U.S. Open champion Gauff only managed to produce 11 winners, five fewer than her far-less-experienced opponent. Gauff also finished with 23 unforced errors, a total that included a half-dozen double-faults.

Against Valentova, an 18-year-old who won the junior title at the French Open last year and was competing in the main draw at a major tournament for the first time, Gauff got broken five times. Four of those came in the second set — and each time, the 21-year-old Floridian managed to immediately rebound to claim Valentova's very next service game.

“There is a sense of urgency after getting broken, for sure. You don’t want to get too far behind. You don’t want to get two breaks down. You can live with one break. But she’s definitely got to serve better and do a better job of holding as the tournament progresses,” said Gauff's father, Corey. “She's probably been one of the best returners of serve on the tour the last two to three months. But that's not what you want. You want to hold first, for sure. It's not really a break until you hold.”

On Saturday, 2022 runner-up Gauff will try to reach the fourth round in Paris for the fifth consecutive appearance, facing another Czech player, Marie Bouzkova.

Other winners in the women's bracket included No. 3 Jessica Pegula, who was the runner-up at last year's U.S. Open, Australian Open champion Madison Keys, 18-year-old Mirra Andreeva, and 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, who reached the 2019 final at Roland-Garros. Vondrousova, who is unseeded this year, eliminated No. 25 Magdalena Frech 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 on Court 6 and then went out to sit in the stands at Lenglen to watch Gauff vs. Valentova. In men's play, No. 1 Jannik Sinner ended the career of 38-year-old Richard Gasquet by beating the Frenchman 6-3, 6-0, 6-4. No. 3 Alexander Zverev and No. 14 Arthur Fils won, while 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic took a medical timeout to deal with a bothersome toe but eliminated Corentin Moutet in three sets.

In the day's last match, No. 5 seed Jack Draper of Britain erased a couple of set points that would have forced a fifth and held on to defeat French showman Gael Monfils 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 across more than three hours under the lights in Court Philippe-Chatrier. In the stands? NFL wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who won a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams. Now the left-handed Draper goes from beating the 38-year-old Monfils to a high-profile matchup against 18-year-old João Fonseca on Saturday.

No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka will begin third-round play at Court Philippe-Chatrier on Day 6 by facing Olga Danilovic, while the night match in the main stadium features defending champion Carlos Alcaraz against Damir Džumhur, who hurt his left knee during a fall in his second-round win. Elsewhere, Iga Swiatek continues her bid for a fourth consecutive championship by playing Jaqueline Cristian, 18-year-old qualifier Victoria Mboko of Canada takes on Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen, and No. 15 Frances Tiafoe faces No. 23 Sebastian Korda in an all-American matchup.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

France's Arthur Fils celebrates beating Spain's Jaume Munar after their second round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Thursday, May 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Britain's Jack Draper reacts during a second-round match against France's Gael Monfils during the French Tennis Open at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Thursday, May 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Serbia's Novak Djokovic receives medical assistance during his second round match of the French Tennis Open against France's Corentin Moutet, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Thursday, May 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

France's Arthur Fils celebrates beating Spain's Jaume Munar after their second round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Thursday, May 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Madison Keys of the U.S. celebrates after beating Britain's Katie Boulter following their second round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Thursday, May 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Italy's Jannik Sinner, left, stands by France's Richard Gasquet after their second round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Thursday, May 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Coco Gauff of the U.S. celebrates winning against Tereza Valentova of the Czech Republic following their second round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Thursday, May 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Thursday formally removed the country’s impeached police chief for deploying hundreds of officers to support ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol's brief imposition of martial law in December 2024.

The court said Cho Ji-ho “actively disrupted” legislative activities by sending police forces to the National Assembly and trying to block lawmakers from reaching the main chamber to vote to lift Yoon’s decree.

Cho also infringed upon the independence of the National Election Commission, the court said, by dispatching police to help the military’s seizure of two NEC offices. Yoon said the actions were intended to investigate unsubstantiated claims of election fraud.

Cho, who was impeached by lawmakers and arrested a week after Yoon’s power grab, is the first commissioner general of the National Police Agency to be removed by the Constitutional Court. He was granted bail in January after a Seoul criminal court cited his need for cancer treatment and faces a separate criminal trial on charges of assisting a rebellion.

Yoon imposed martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, describing the action as necessary to suppress an “anti-state” liberal opposition controlling the legislature. Hours later a quorum of lawmakers managed to break through the military and police blockade and unanimously voted to revoke the order.

Lawmakers later in December voted to impeach Yoon, suspending his powers and placing his fate with the Constitutional Court, which formally removed him from office in April. He was rearrested in July and faces a slew of serious charges including rebellion, which is punishable by life imprisonment or the death penalty.

In its ruling on Cho’s impeachment motion, the Constitutional Court said he cannot remain as the national police chief when he carried out Yoon’s orders despite being clearly aware they were “unconstitutional, unlawful.”

The ruling noted Cho and the Seoul metropolitan police chief were summoned by Yoon to a safe house hours before the declaration of martial law, where they discussed plans to carry it out with Yoon’s then defense minister.

Following Yoon’s declaration, Yoon and the Seoul police chief deployed about 300 officers around the entrances of the National Assembly, which also was swarmed by heavily armed troops, including special operations units with Blackhawk helicopters, in what the court described as an effort to block the legislative vote.

After protests by lawmakers and civilians at the National Assembly, police briefly allowed lawmakers and legislative staff to enter before sealing the grounds for more than two hours later that night after the military’s martial law command announced the suspension of political activities. A quorum of lawmakers still managed to enter with some, including current President Lee Jae Myung, climbing fences to reach the main chamber.

Cho argued his actions did not constitute support for Yoon’s martial law, claiming he sent police to the Assembly to maintain order and prevent accidental clashes.

“Considering that lawmakers and others had no choice but to enter the National Assembly by abnormal means, such as climbing over fences, due to the respondent’s order to block the entrances, the respondent’s claim is not acceptable,” the court said in a statement.

FILE - South Korea's National Police Agency Commissioner General Cho Ji Ho speaks at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Dec. 9, 2024. (Ryu Hyung-seok/Yonhap via AP, File)

Kim Sang-hwan, top center, chief justice of the Constitutional Court and the court's other justices attend a hearing to deliver a verdict on impeached police chief Cho Ji-ho at the court in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (Kim Sung-min/Yonhap via AP)